Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
| Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | tri-Ace |
| Publisher(s) | Square Enix |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release |  June 22, 2006
 September, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria is a prequel to the original Valkyrie Profile video game. It was released June 22, 2006 in Japan for the PlayStation 2 by its developer tri-Ace. An American release has been confirmed recently for September, 2006.
Story
As Valkyrie Profile was the story of Lenneth, Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria will be the story about Silmeria and by extension, Alicia. There is only one mode available to play (as opposed to Easy, Normal and Hard options presented in Valkyrie Profile). Chapters exist, but periods are not used. It is unknown how time will pass in the game.
Some time before the events of Valkyrie Profile, Silmeria, the kindest and youngest of the three Valkyries, had been captured by Brahms who was at war with Odin. Her soul was crystallized in his throne room, deep inside his immaterial palace.
But before this occurred, Silmeria angered Odin in some way and was imprisoned inside the body of Alicia, princess of the kingdom of Dipan. Not a reincarnation, both Alicia and Silmeria share a single body. Alicia now journeys for an unknown reason alongside mortals and previous Einherjar. As Silmeria's Einherjar grow stronger, they will eventually regain a mortal body and return to life free from the influence of Odin or Silmeria. Essentially, this is the complete reverse of Lenneth's role in Valkyrie Profile.
Silmeria was mentioned several times in Valkyrie Profile and was one of the most mysterious elements of the game.
Gameplay
Numerous details have been released about the new battle system presented in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria. Fans of the original game, Valkyrie Profile, can expect a 3-Dimensional battle terrain that includes new elements such as the ability to pincer and attack the enemies from behind (depending on the formation you have set, you can also target different body parts), and to conduct a Leader Assault, in which players will be able to target the leader of the enemy unit to end the battle quickly without having to take out the rest. Battles also incorporate the use of Attack Points (AP), which are needed to act in battle. Points are consumed as you attack, and are replenished when you win a battle. Einherjar will have three basic attacks, as seen in Valkyrie Profile.
The same weapon types are making an appearance (Basic Sword, Great Sword, etc.) and Einherjar will be able to use only their specified type of weapon, although they will only be able to perform their Soul Crush move with a certain weapons equipped.
Alicia can teleport small distances which is estimated the same use as the 'hidden step' motion Lenneth could use with her crystals. The ability has been called 'Photon'. The game also retains the platformer elements such as jumping and on-screen enemies.
Alicia also possesses the ability to materialize Silmeria's Einherjar. However because Silmeria has forgotten about those Einherjar, Alicia must come into contact with an object associated with the soul in order to make Silmeria remember. It appears that this ability will trigger scenes much like the recruitment scenes from Valkyrie Profile. However they may not include the character's death. This will in no doubt be a vital part of the game. Once Einherjar have reached a certain level, they may part ways with Alicia, and the player is rewarded differently, depending on whom they will release. This is an alternate method for "lightening" the party load, as Lenneth had similarly done so in Valkyrie Profile by transferring her Einherjar to Valhalla.
The presence of "Fuuin-seki" (封印石seal-stone) are special items hidden within dungeons, atop altars. When Alicia enters a dungeon, the Fuuinseki will give an advantage to her opponents by allowing extra damage to be dealt to her party. Once Alicia locates the altar and claims the item for herself, the advantage is then hers, and her party in turn, is allowed to deal that extra damage back onto enemies. You can take these items by spending a type of point accumulation currency allocated after each battle.
There is no Divine Item in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria; Alicia will be buying her equipment from shops. The option to buy Rare and Unknown (?) Items is present. Attacking enemies in certain parts of their body will yield ? Items to be crafted into Rare items. All equipment pieces are said to come with "Runes", and by combining them, you will have the option to learn certain skills (the system is said to be more complex than that of Valkyrie Profile). Increase the skill point level to 100% by fighting, to use the skill without having the specific equipment required to use it, equipped. Every piece of equipment has a colour link (Red, Blue, Green or transparent, respectively), and if you have an accumulation of one colour for instance, the stronger the equipped skill will become.
Characters
Alicia has been revealed as the main character of Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria. Not Silmeria herself but rather a mortal host for her soul, Alicia has been shown to exhibit abilities of the Valkyrie, as the story goes on, both her personality and her access to abilites of the Valkyrie develops.
Silmeria is not actually considered as a playble character. she only joins the party for a very short period of time. However, as part of the Tri-Ace's tradition, most temporary characters, including Silmeria, can be regained permanently in the bonus dungeon called Seraphic Gate
It has been revealed that Alicia's ability to hear Silmeria's voice (implying the two are capable of communicating) caused Alicia to be alienated by her royal family and later taken away from Dipan in exile. Later on in the game, it gives a description of the King and the three mage's true motivations. Even though some people may consider the story contradicts to its prequel.
One of the defining traits of Valkyrie Profile was its large cast of playable characters. As Alicia is capable of materializing Silmeria's Einherjar as well as have mortals fight alongside her, the playable character cast will likely be comparable in size.
Known characters are the swordsman Dylan (confirmed Einherjar), archers Rufus, Sha-Kon, Arcana, Lidia, and Lylia, mysterious mage Mitra, treasure hunter Leone (confirmed mortal) and her companion Aluze (bearing similar appearance to Arngrim), then-active valkyrie Hrist (Ahly in the Japanese version) and the mage Lezard Valeth. Lenneth and Silmeria both become playable at some point in late game and can be found in Seraphic Gate again. Another swordswoman named Tyrith has been confirmed. Two other characters have been seen in screenshots- Dyn, a blonde haired swordsman in red armor, and a purple haired swordswoman named Celes. Other confirmed characters are Circe, Falk, Atracia, and Masato. Freya is apparently a boss character somewhere in the game and is seen using her Divine Assault "Ether Strike" against Alicia; Freya is a playable character after defeating her in the Seraphic Gate.
Reincarnation played an important role in Valkyrie Profile and seems to play a large role in this prequel. Many of the Einherjar from VP were revealed to have served Hrist in a previous incarnation. Arngrim is one such character. It's possible that the game will reveal more about Hrist's actions in the past and her relations with her Einherjar/Silmeria. Hrist has been confirmed to be in the game, but details involving her specific duties have not been released. It has been seen in screenshots however, that she is on the trail of Alicia, which coincides with her appearances in Dipan merely touched upon in Valkyrie Profile. It is unknown if she will be fighting the undead and Brahms. Freya's comments in VP's Seraphic Gate could possibly imply she fought alongside Hrist against the undead and therefore could possibly appear with Hrist.
Other appearances include: Odin, Freya, Brahms, and Lenneth.
Controversy
Since the games release, Square-Enix have issued embargoes on North American media sites and magazines in an attempt to keep much of the content in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria under wraps.
The majority, if not all, of western publications have been ignored. While Square-Enix have made no statements as to why they are attempting to withhold information, it is common practice in the music and movie industry to attempt to hush the industry before a product's debut out of fear or concern that the title will receive bad press and reviews. However, IGN published a small preview of the game and its play mechanics on their website and their initial reaction to the game seems to be quite favorable thus far.
External links
Gogo Dodo, why do you keep removing my link?